Risking the Future Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing (1987) / Chapter Skim
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5 Consequences of Adolescent Childbearing
5 Consequences of Adolescent Childbearing
Pages 123-140
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From page 123... ...
This chapter discusses the consequences of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing in terms of health risks and outcomes, educational atta~nment, family structure and size, work status and income, financial dependence and poverty, and somoemotional and cognitive outcomes for the children of teenage mothers. HEALTH RISKS AND OUTCOMES Research on the health risks and outcomes of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing shows that pregnant teenagers, espec~aDy those under age 15, have higher rates of complications, maternal morbidity and mortality, and premature and/or low birthweight babies (Strobino, Vol.
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From page 124... ...
However, despite some evidence that the health risks to teenage mothers and their babies cannot be entirely eliminated, in general the medical problems associated with adolescent pregnancy can be greatly reduced with appropriate health care, especially prenatal care and good nutrition (Strobino, Vol.
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From page 125... ...
in pregnancies following an induced abortion, the risk is small and appears to be more significantly associated with diffenng characteristics of the women-for example, race, poverty status, poor health and health habits-than with abortion history (Hogue et al., 1982; Daling and Emanuel, 1977; Madore et al., 1981; Schoenbaum et al., 1980; Kline et al., 1978~. Among adult women the odds of a second-trimester spontaneous abortion increased somewhat as the number of prior induced abortions am creased (Lev~n et al., 1980)
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From page 126... ...
Later research that has controlled for socioeconomic background, academic ability, and motivational factors has also found that early childbearers are more likely to have reduced educational attainment than later childbearers (Card and Wise, 1978; Haggstrom et al., 1983; Moore and Hofferth, 1980; Hofferth and Moore, 1979; Moore et al., 1978; Waite and Moore, 1978~. The younger the mother at the time of birth, the greater the educational decrement, although this effect is somewhat less significant for blacks than for whites (Wa~te and Moore, 19781.
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From page 127... ...
In large part, this probably reflects the fact that in black families and the black community in general, the necessary support mechanisms are better developed to help young unmarried women cope with early childbearing (Hill, 1977; Williams, 1977, as cited ~ Moore et al., 1986; Mider, 19831. Differences In educational attainment between teenagers who give birth and those who do not are Sect ~ the list severe yews following the both of their child, but there is ewdence that they 33iIunish somewhat over time.
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From page 128... ...
. Although the rate of nomnantal childbeanng has increased significantly over the past two decades, approximately half of all adolescent mothers are warned at the time they give birth (O'Connell and Rogers, 1984~.
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From page 129... ...
Among the small proportion of early childbearers who do enter stable mantal relationships, economic outcomes are far more favorable than for those who do not marry and become single heads of household (Furstenberg an] Brooks-Gunn, 1985a)
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From page 130... ...
WORK SIATUS AND INCOME In part because of their educational deficits and larger family size, adolescent mothers are less likely tO 6~3 stable =d remunerative employment than their peers who delay childbearing. Several researchers have found a significant difference ~ work status and income between early and late childbearers, which appears to be at least In part attributable to the aiming of parenthood tCard and Wise, 1978; Hofferth and Moore, 1979; Trussel1 and Abowd, 1979~.
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From page 131... ...
study as well. Although the employment dispanties between the adolescent mothers in the Baltimore study sample and their classmates who had not given birth were great at the 5-year follow-up, the differences had diminished somewhat by the 17year foLow-up.
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From page 132... ...
In addition, because those who begin childbearing at a younger age have fewer prospects of achieving a stable mantal relationship, many more of these women are the only or the major source of economic support for their families. Although research has not addressed whether adolescent mothers are less likely to receive child sum port from absent fathers, few mothers receive a majority of their income Tom this source (Bureau of the Census, 1985c)
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From page 133... ...
Particularly among young mothers, blacks, unmamed mothers, and high school dropouts, child care constraints frequently interfere with employment (Presser, 19801. Women with little education and low incomes also face greater difficulties in Dying jobs that pay well and that offer fringe benefits important to workers with children, for example, comprehensive health care coverage (Moore and Burt, 19821.
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From page 134... ...
These Endings are supported by other researchers who found that teenagers who bear children enter the welfare system earlier in the family life cycle and leave it sooner than do women from similar socioeconomic backgrounds who delay childbearing until their twenties (Block and Dubin, 1981~. In addition, however, early childbearers tend to enter and exit the welfare system earlier in the family life cycle because they rely on public support to complete their education and then enter the job market.
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From page 135... ...
Teenage mothers, as we have seen, tend to be poor and less welleducated, and their children are likely to grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods, to attend low-quality schools, and experience high rates of family instability. Indirect effects on the cognitive development and performance of the children of adolescent mothers appear to operate through family structure (i.e., single parenthood)
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From page 136... ...
found a relatively high incidence of school behavior problems (e.g., school suspension, running away, being stopped by the police, and having inflicted a serious injury on someone else) among the adolescent children of the teenage mothers in their study, although they did not control for relevant background factors such as socioeconomic status and family structure.
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From page 137... ...
reports that the children of white adolescent mothers are more likely than those of black adolescent mothers to accept early childbearing as a possibility for themselves and somewhat more likely to have started dating at a younger age. Studies show that the effects of having a teenage parent on children's development are mediated through a variety of other factors, including mother's education, family structure, family size, and poverty, the very factors that most strongly predict early sexual activity, ineffective contraceptive use, and early nonmantal childbearing.
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From page 138... ...
Yet she also finds that the families of origin of adolescent parents were significantly more likely to have low incomes and to live in neighborhoods that they themselves describe as undesirable for their children. The cycle of school failure, frustration, and disinterest among the children of adolescent mothers is of greatest concern in this context, because we know that it is strongly associated with early sexual activity and pregnancy ire girls and with antisocial behavior in boys.
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From page 139... ...
Available evidence suggests that the children of teenage parents are especially prone tO hanng children early in life themselves. The significant danger signals warrant farther investigation and suggest directions for fixture intervennon.
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